Switzerland--Part 2

Day 2

*We both had a good night's sleep--hooray!

*I have to mention breakfast.  I'm a big fan of breakfast and I was not disappointed.  Our hotels all had buffets that included fresh breads and pastries; local, fresh meats (salami, ham) and cheeses (at least 3 varieties); scrambled eggs; bacon; cereals; fresh jams; juices; fruit; and usually tomatoes and cucumbers.  It was a great meal to start our day with.

*Ride cableway and train to the top of Mt. Rigi (mountain behind our hotel)

*We hiked all the way back down the mountain.  We really enjoyed the first half down.  It was an easy trail with beautiful views and some wildflowers.  We had lunch at the point between the cableway and train.  It was a big mistake to go down the last half by foot.  It was very steep and too much to tackle on our first day.  It didn't help that we followed the wrong trail and took an "expert" way down rather than an easier path.  We were very sore when we got back to the hotel.

*We enjoyed a fabulous dinner at a restaurant by the lake; we choose to sit outside even though it was a bit chilly.

*We walked along the lake and came across a local band made up of all wind instruments including the alp horn.

The ride up

The town of Weggis.  Our hotel is on the bump that's in the middle of the picture.

 Cog-wheel train (the cogs are in the center of the track and prevent the train from going too fast down or rolling back down the mountains)

 Amazing scenery

Notice the large slug (the pinecone is as long as a finger)--these slugs were everywhere

 Brrrr!!!

 After dinner walk (ignore the lettuce in my teeth; I haven't edited much yet)

 Alp horn

Our hotel

Day 3

*Up early to catch buses and trains to Mt. Pilatus

*We rode the steepest train in the world to the top of the mountain; it had a grade of 48%.

*We walked around on top of the mountain before riding a gondola part of the way down so we could ride on the alpine slide.

*We went back to the top in order to ride the train all the way back down.

*We walked around the city of Lucerne and saw the Chapel bridge and Mill bridge (very old wood bridges).

*I'll mention here that we skyped with the kids every day.  The time difference is 7 hours so we would call about 7-8 pm which was lunch time in Oklahoma.  I think it really helped the kids and especially Luke to see where we were and tell us about his activities.  I know it also helped Troy and I to relax a bit more to see them each day.  We missed them terribly.

At the top

A part of the very steep grade to the top.  The train cars were actually tiered to account for the grade.

He played "Amazing Grace" on the alp horn.  

Going back up to ride again--you were pulled backwards up the mountain to get back to the top.  It was awesome because the view forward was mountains and the lake.

 Going down the slide

 There were tons and tons of swans on the lake.

Chapel bridge; the tower used to be a prison

 On the bridge

Lake front in Lucerne

Day 4

*We slept in at my request. :)

*We got on a boat tour in the hopes of seeing more of the lake but the weather was bad--cold, raining and very cloudy.  It was nice to just sit for a while though and enjoy what we could see, the hot chocolate and each other.

*We rode the train from Brunnen (a small town on the lake) back to Lucerne.

*We walked to the Lion Monument (a memorial to the Swiss Guard who were killed protecting a French King--basically the king knew all the Guard would be killed but he sent them anyway).

*Next, we walked through Glacier Garden.  It had glacial potholes from 20 million years ago--in non-geologic terms, holes formed from melt water and boulders under the glacier.  We geologists found it fascinating.

*More shopping and touring of Lucerne in and out of the rain.

*We had dinner from the local grocery store in Weggis (food is very expensive in Switzerland). 

It was cold!  We were the only ones sitting outside.

The photographer :)

 The architecture was amazing.  Swiss chalets next to much more modern buildings.

 The boat we were on was a paddle-wheel.  These are the giant pistons the ran the paddles.  The boat was built in 1901 and these are the original pistons.  It was remarkable how clean they were.

 An old boat house

 Dreary weather on the lake

 The lion was actually carved right into the massive wall of rock.

 One of the potholes

 Our room is the middle room on the floor below the sign

Switzerland--Part 1

Troy and I had a wonderful time on our trip to Switzerland.  We left May 25 and got back on June 6.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn't too great but we did our best to make the most of it.  Of the 10 days we weren't traveling, 6 days were rainy and cold.  We weren't able to go hiking as much as we had originally planned but found some other fun activities even if it was wet and cold.

We took a massive amount of pictures, close to 1200 actually.  (Yes, we know that's a bit beyond ridiculous.)  The scenery was amazing and stunning and magnificant and breath-taking and just plain awesome!  The food was also fantastic and we really enjoyed it way too much.  I mean cheese and chocolate, you can't go wrong.  

We spent the first four nights in the town of Weggis which is on Lake Lucerne.  Our room had a balcony looking out over the lake and all the surrounding mountains.  It was a magnificent view!  The next six nights we spent in Lauterbrunnen Valley, the valley of the falling water.  We again had a balcony and it looked out toward Staubbach Falls, a 1,000 ft waterfall.  Our last night was in Zurich before we got back on the plane to come home.

I'm not sure how many posts I'll do about our trip.  I'm guessing at a minimum four.  My plan is to do a quick daily summary followed by pictures of the day.  I'm hoping to be able to narrow down the pictures to roughly 10-15 per day.  

And a fun fact, before all the pictures start, for you to put the size of Switzerland into perspective.  The largest extension north to south is 137 miles and the largest extension west to east is 216 miles.  Oklahoma in comparison is 230 miles north to south and 478 miles west to east (although that includes the panhandle).  Switzerland is a very small country!

As I said, we left on May 25.  Our flight left OKC about noon and we flew to Atlanta before our long flight to Zurich (which was delayed about 2 hours out of Atlanta).  Our flight was about 10 hours long--it went by relatively fast.  I was able to sleep for maybe 4ish hours and Troy didn't get much sleep at all.

And now, on to day 1.

Day 1

*Arrive in Zurich about 10 am

*Store our luggage and visit Swiss National Museum in Zurich

*Take train to Lucerne and boat to Weggis to our hotel

*Early dinner (cheese fondue)

*Early to bed

First picture in Switzerland

 Swiss National Museum

 Glad we still have luggage

View from our hotel

Cheese fondue

2013 Summer Fun List

One of my friends sent out a list of 101 fun things to do this summer.  Luke and I changed some and here is our list.

1. Eat snowcones
2. Play tag
3. Celebrate Luke's 5th birthday
4. Go swimming
5. Make chocolate chip cookies
6. Play in the sprinklers
7. Go on a picnic
8. Watch fireworks
9. Make homemade ice cream
10. Go to the library
11. Blow bubbles
12. Make a collage
13. Play a family game
14. Go to Pop's for a pop
15. Visit Grammy & PawPaw
16. Have a playdate
17. Blow dandelions
18. Take a family picture
19. Watch the stars
20. Participate in the summer reading program at the library
21. Get a drink at Sonic
22. Go to Hafer Park
23. Build a tent and sleep in it
24. Eat watermelon
25. Chase lightning bugs
26. Visit Grandma & Grandpa J
27. Make a bead necklace
28. Wash the car
29. Play in the sandbox
30. Make and fly paper airplanes
31. Go on a scavenger hunt
32. Build something 
33. Have a water fight
34. Stay in a hotel
35. Paint a picture
36. Try a new recipe--LJ's choice
37. Go to the movie theater
38. Make popsicles
39. Go to the rocket ship park
40. Go to the zoo
41. Watch Mentos explode
42. Put together puzzles
43. Make hammered leaf prints
44. Play on the swingset
45. Go to a baseball game
46. Make and do an obstacle course
47. Make chocolate chip muffins
48. Climb trees
49. Go to Myriad Gardens
50. Make an ice cream cake
51. Spend the night with Grandma & Grandpa H
52. Go down a water slide
53. Walk to Braums for ice cream
54. Go bowling
55. Go on a nature walk
56. Go to our neighborhood park
57. Visit a museum
58. Have a summer pinterest party
59. Have a water balloon fight
60. Work on name writing
61. Go to the bookstore
62. Catch bugs
63. Go on vacation
64. Make pizza
65. Write a story together
66. Have smores
67. Eat home-grown veggies
68. Make handprint art
69. Throw frisbees
70. Make blueberry pancakes
71. Go to Unpluggits
72. Go to Peach Wave
73. Watch the July 4th Parade
74. Build a giant wooden train track
75. Go to Mitch Park
76. Family Movie Day at home
77. Paint rocks
78. Play basketball
79. Go to Martin Nature Park
80. Take silly pictures
81. Eat breakfast for dinner
82. Bead art
83. Go to the Farmer's Market
84. Play Legos
85. Play hide n seek at the park
86. Go for a big wheel ride
87. Work on letter and number writing
88. Plant flowers
89. Play in the rain
90. Draw a huge picture with sidewalk chalk
91. Grill burgers and hot dogs
92. Do a baking soda and vinegar experiment
93. Eat outside
94. Go hiking
95. Decorate cupcakes
96. Play hopscotch
97. Read a new book
98. Make rice krispie treats
99. Feed the ducks
100. Go for a long walk
101. Do a cannonball off the diving board

As of today, we've completed 27 things.  

Right Now...

...I'm typing this post standing at the bar ledge in our kitchen.

...Hannah is asking for her milk, saying, "Mil, mil?"

...LJ is at Grammy and PawPaw's house until late Friday.  I miss him.

...Troy is at work and currently in a meeting.

...I'm planning to grill some salmon for dinner and have a caesar salad and asparagus to go with it.

...there is a third load of laundry in the dryer for the day.

...I should be working on making LJ's birthday invitations.

...surprisingly, there are not a thousand toys all over the family room floor.

...I'm wishing I had more tomatoes growing on my tomato plants but I'll take the 4 I have.

...my favorite saying of Hannah's is, "Than you mum."  I really need to get it on video.  It's adorable.

...my gardens desperately need to be weeded but it's so hot I have no desire to complete the task.

...Hannah is eating pretzel goldfish for a snack or nack, nack.

...I'm happy to say that the TV has not been on all day--really like that.

...I'm currently reading my fourth Inspector Gamache novel by Louise Penny.  Great books!

...Troy and I are talking about how realistic it would be to put in a pool.

...I'm really looking forward to the "cold" front that's supposed to come next week.  Highs only in the upper 80's for the beginning of July.  Yippeeee!

...it's time for me to go. :)

Father's Day

Father's Day was a good day for Troy.  We had donuts for breakfast, one of his favorites.  That was followed by a trip to Myriad Gardens to play with the kids and watch them have fun in the splash pad.  We then came home for lunch and naps, another favorite of Troy's.  And we had dinner with my dad and step-mom at their house--grilled salmon, corn on the cob, potato salad and caesar salad--delicious!

18 Months Old

Hannah is 18 months old today.  Our beautiful little girl is a year and a half old already.  Hannah is without question full of love, laughter, attitude, determination and as much fun as one can pack into a little toddler body.  She is quirky, goofy, spunky and still a bit of a momma's girl.  She will let you know her opinion in no uncertain terms and she definitely wants to do it all by herself.

*Schedule: Hannah is awake no later than 8:30 and usually closer to 8.  Since school has been out for the summer, she has transitioned to just one nap a day.  It is usually about 2 hours long, from 1-3.  There are days though when we barely get an hour nap (those are not great days).  Hannah goes to bed at 8 or a little after.  I am so thankful she sleeps for 12 hours at night considering her nap time isn't always the greatest.

*Stats: Hannah was 25 lbs 8 oz and 32.5 inches long at her 15 month check-up.  I weighed her today and she's between 28 and 29 pounds and I would guess at least 34 inches tall.  We don't have her 18 month check up until July 11 but I'm guessing she will still be in the upper 90th percentiles for weight and height again.   Hannah is wearing 18-24 month clothes and pajamas are 24 month or 2T size.  Hannah's hair has finally started to come in more and much more in the last couple of weeks.  It is very light blond and can still have a red cast to it occassionally.  It's even long enough now that she gets a few little curls in the back.  

*Food: No change here--Hannah loves to eat!  She is quite particular about how she eats--she must now have a spoon and fork of her own and she would prefer to have regular silverware rather than little plastic forks and spoons we give her. I have to say that I am impressed with her skill at using both a fork and a spoon. Either lunch or dinner is a huge meal and sometimes both.  She can still out eat Luke and I'm always amazed at how much she can fit in her little tummy.  Her favorites: cheese, fruit (strawberries and raspberries), macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, yogurt, sweet potatoes and corn.

*Activities: Hannah LOVES to dance and sing.  We have a bunch of dance parties around here.  Hannah has yet to slow down--I don't think she ever will.  Chase and tag are favorites now especially with Luke.  Any toy that makes noise will grab her attention at least for a bit especially musical ones.  Hannah is back into building towers and knocking them over.  Drawing is still a big favorite.  She also loves to be tickled, push her stroller around, carry around her dolls and play with Luke.  Outside is the place to be for Hannah--swinging, going down the slide and a new big time favorite, the swimming pool.  She is an absolute fish!  We're working on blowing bubbles, kicking and she's already put her face in on her own a few times.  Jumping in from the side of the pool is also lots of fun.  Hannah is quite good at pouting.  She will throw herself on the floor, tuck her arms under her tummy and pull her knees in as well.  She then flips her head back and forth and tries to catch your eye to see if you're paying attention.  Hannah also enjoys finding "trash" and throwing it away in the trash can.

*Mobility:  I don't think there's much to say here other than she never stops moving.

*Favorites: When Hannah is tired or fussy, I am still most prefered but Hannah is definitely becoming a daddy's girl.  The joy and excitement she exudes when Troy gets home from work are almost unparalleled.  Big brother is obviously a favorite.  Just the other night she gave Luke a hug and a kiss before bed all on her own.  Man was Luke excited about that.  Unfortunately, Hannah must have a cloth diaper with her where ever we go (just like her brother).  She calls them bebe's.  Hannah really enjoys looking at books.  She doesn't want you to read them to her she just wants to flip through and look at the pictures.  Unfortunately, Hannah is very hard on books and really likes to rip them apart.

(As a quick side note: I wish someone could explain to me why my children find sucking on cloth diapers so comforting. And Hannah didn't learn it from Luke--she started doing it when she was about 3 months old.  Also, anyone with suggestions of how to rid them of this habit please leave me a comment.)

*Noises/Talking:  Hannah's new words include: Grammy, Grandma, cheese, milk, more, down, outside, bird, squirrel, stinky, excuse me, repeating me over and over if she wants something, night night, sheepy (a new stuffed animal), book, swing, water and I'm sure several others I'm not thinking of.  Hannah also babbles constantly and she sings Frere Jacques and we believe she has also started singing the ABC's.  She also still makes this adorable blabber, blabber, blabber noise with her tongue that we all love.

She does this squat all the time.

Can you see the curl in her hair?  Isn't it cute?!?!  Also, how red it looks in the pic below.

Love this girl to pieces!!!

Hello

So, it's been over a month since my last post.  This year it has been harder for me to find the time to blog.  It's not like I'm a busy mom with a toddler and preschooler running around, school is out for the summer or we're doing fun stuff together or anything like that--definitely nothing like that.  

I have gobs of pictures from the last month but a computer issue that required an overnight stay at the Apple store to restore all of my pics has caused a slow down in that department.  They used to be neatly organized by event and I could find what I was looking for in a few seconds.  Now they are in large groups, thankfully still in order by date, but it will take a bit of time to get them all back into events and sorted in order to find things.  Another task that requires much time for a mom who doesn't seem to have much free time these days.

So a quick word run-down on the last month:

May 12: Mother's Day: It was a great day.  We had brunch with Grandma and Grandpa Hogancamp and I spent the rest of the day outside planting flowers.  I choose to order mexican for dinner which we enjoyed outside on the patio.

May 16: Luke's last day of school:  Luke had a great school year.  We also found out this week that he will have the same teachers next year; we are very excited about that!  

May 20: Luke's last day of Gymnastics:  At the end of this session the gym has what they call the M&M olympics for the kids.  Luke got a trophy and 2 bags of M&Ms.  Much excitement there.

May 20: The devasting tornado in Moore, OK.  Mother Nature can be a very scary force and we were/are very sorry for those families affected by this storm as well as the other communities affected this tornado season here in OK.  We are very grateful to have our storm shelter and pray that we never truly need it.

May 25-June 6: Troy and I go to Switzerland to celebrate our 10th anniversary.  We had a wonderful time even with awful weather.  I have no doubt there will be many posts on this trip hopefully soon.  The kids stayed at home and Grammy and Sarah were with them the first week, Grandma and Grandpa H for the weekend and Grandma and Grandpa J were here for the last 5 days.  

Again, hopefully pictures will follow soon.